Anchor Brewers & Distillers is a San Francisco institution. The brewing part of the company dates back to the Gold Rush, when German brewers made steam beer - created with lager yeast and no refrigeration - to sell to the miners.

But by the 1960s, the brewery was going bankrupt. Fritz Maytag, a craft brewing and distilling pioneer, bought the company. Besides making the popular Anchor Steam Beer, in 1993 he established Anchor Distillery, famous in California for its Old Potrero whiskey and Junipero gin.

In 2010, he sold the company to Tony Foglio and Keith Greggor, former Skyy vodka executives. They formed a partnership with Berry Bros. & Rudd, England's oldest wine and spirits merchant. For the past three years, the new owners have been mapping out a game plan for expansion, specifically tapping into the thriving premium spirits market.

"The trick is to stay credible, but still pay the bills," said David King, president of Anchor Distilling Co., who spoke with The Chronicle on Anchor's history and future.

Q:Define credible.

A: We want to stay artisanal. We were one of the first craft distillers, and it's important to us to maintain that creativity and hands-on tradition. Everything is hand-bottled here, and our production is tiny compared to the big names.

Q:How do you pay the bills when you're competing against these big companies who are distributing internationally? Where do you go from here?

A: We plan to triple our spirits production to 250,000 cases by 2018. That's still pretty small. But we think it's enough. We'll also be broadening our product line. Beer will go from 150,000 barrels to 500,000 barrels - more than 2 million cases.

We're also working with the San Francisco Giants to develop Pier 48 to build a new brewery and distillery. We plan to keep the Potrero Hill facility. Pier 48 will be more consumer-oriented with a museum, tasting room, tours and a restaurant and bar. We're hoping to open in 2016.

Q:Why do you think the spirits sector, particularly the premium market, is seeing such a growth spurt?

A: There is terrific growth opportunity in this area, because the same consumers who are interested in craft beer, farm-to-table and the backstories of products they buy are also showing a big interest in artisanal spirits. This is probably greatly due to the popularity of mixology, bartenders promoting local craft spirits and publicity generated by blogs, websites and social media.

Consumers also want small-batch products. To them it's very cool and personalized - a way for them to express their individuality.

Q:What kind of growth did the spirits sector see in 2013 from 2012?

A: Our sales were up 35 percent. For the entire market, overall, it was up 3 percent and superpremium was up 10 percent.

Q:How do you define superpremium?

A: I define it as anything more than $15 for a 750-milliliter bottle. Anchor's products are typically $30 or more.

Q:What are some of the trends you're seeing in spirits right now?

A: We're seeing flavored spirits and spirits with bolder flavor. Consumers seem to be looking for bold. Not in an '80s flashy way - you know, the big hair and the big shoulder pads. It's much more discerning. Rye is also really hot right now. Although it's very traditional, it was off the scene for a while. Now people are rediscovering it. And it's a great canvas for cocktails.

Another trend, and an unusual one, is vermouth. We're seeing lots of artisanal ones made with herbs and spices. And it's not being used as an ingredient in a cocktail, but to be drunk straight, like an aperitif wine. Sutton Cellars in Dogpatch is making a great one.

Q:Are you adding to your line by following some of these trends?

A: The emperor has to be fully dressed and wearing a hat. You can't bluff it here. So we're really not trend driven. Bartenders won't support just any old idea. It has to be substantial. They're the gatekeepers.

And if someone is already doing a great vermouth, why do it? For us the biggest thing about innovation is asking questions. When I first got here, we had the fresh cluster hops for the beer, and I asked, 'Can we distill them?' That's what led to our Hophead hop vodka. We sold 1,000 cases last year.

In spring we're releasing an Old Tom, a gin popular in the 1800s. Instead of sweetening ours with sugar, we're going to use stevia.

Q:Speaking of gin, for Anchor's popular Junipero gin do you use the English or Spanish pronunciation?

A: Fritz Maytag used to tell people he didn't care how they pronounced it as long as they bought it.